Volkswagen Group vs ZF

Supervisory Board approves Future Plan 2030: A strong signal for Volkswagen Group

The Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group unanimously approved the Executive Board’s Future Plan 2030, enabling the Group to pave the way for sustainable long-term success.

Xpeng Aims High with Mainz 05 Sponsorship Deal

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng is stepping up its brand campaign in Germany through a two-year sponsorship deal with Bundesliga club Mainz 05. At an event in the Mewa-Arena, Xpeng Central Europe Managing Director Markus Schrick said the partnership is intended to raise brand awareness and position Xpeng as a premium mobility brand associated with high-tech, reliability, and modesty. Xpeng, in which Volkswagen holds just under five percent since July 2023, launched in Germany in 2024 and tripled sales to nearly 3,000 vehicles last year. The company targets 8,000 EV sales in Germany this year and 15,000 next year, and more than 100,000 vehicles across international markets by 2026. The contract with Mainz 05 is initially for two years with an option to extend. Schrick also discussed agency discussions and advertising plans in the video interview.

• Xpeng signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Bundesliga club Mainz 05 as premium and mobility partner.
• Xpeng targets 8,000 EV sales in Germany this year, up from nearly 3,000 last year.
• Xpeng considers 15,000 German sales possible next year and over 100,000 international sales by 2026.

Salesforce: LLMs reshape automotive product search

In an interview, Jessica Geutner (Vice President Strategic Customers, Salesforce) discusses how large language models (LLMs) are changing product search in the automotive sector and shifting responsibilities for OEMs and dealers. She argues that manufacturers must be discoverable within LLM-driven systems and connect those AI-initiated journeys into their CRM, sales and dealer processes. Geutner emphasizes that probabilistic generative AI cannot replace deterministically collected, consented customer data and that consent management and integrated data infrastructures are critical. Salesforce cites work with the Volkswagen Group to centralize customer data as an example of improved service efficiency.

• Jessica Geutner is Vice President Strategic Customers at Salesforce and spoke about AI and the automotive customer journey.
• The article states 77% of commerce leaders expect LLMs will help with product search in the future.
• Salesforce helped the Volkswagen Group centralize customer data, improving service efficiency according to Stefanie Paetow.